Alleged iPhone 12 Molds and CAD Images Show New iPad Pro-Style Design

[pcdtech]

I'm the customer. Creating new designs for iPhones isn't my job.

So your job is to whine on forums about how they’re run out of ideas, but then when asked about what new ideas you’d be looking for as a consumer, have nothing to share? Got it.
[automerge]1592213378[/automerge]

Naturally design is totally subjective, but although I love the iPhone 4 as the best industrial design Apple ever made, I've always felt the humble 5C had the best ergonomic design. A soft rounded back where your palm rests and squared front which let the screen run closer to the edge.

Of course everyone hated it because it was 'cheap and plastic', but in my opinion the functionality of it was excellent.

My friend had a white iPhone 5C and I did love the feel in hand. I didn’t mind the polycarbonate material. I actually appreciated it. It felt like it could take a beating and scratching. And, I agree, the shape felt great in the hand. I loved the 5S’ feel in hand, too, but I think the ever so slight curve of the 5C’s back was more comfortable to hold, and more grippy than the 5S. It is unfortunate that Apple hasn’t focused more on the grippiness of its phones from the iPhone 6 to the 11, choosing form over function, once again. I hope that the return to flat edges and a smaller design (5.4” model) will make this much easier to hold and grip in the hand.

 

[anthorumor]

Can’t wait for the iPhone...
13.

 

[pcdtech]

I wonder if this is a lip in the stainless steel or aluminum band. Or, perhaps, a chamfered edge. I’m completely nitpicking, of course, but I was hoping for a truly flat design with no bevel/lip/chamfer, similar to the iPad Pro. That may be harder to achieve when the back will be glass (vs the iPad Pro which is one single piece of aluminum. To that end, it’s a shame we can’t have a true duplicate of the iPad Pro with an aluminum back, and maintain wireless charging. Make no mistake, I’m still going to buy the 5.4” model, no questions asked.

 

[locrumo]

I keep my 7

 

[pcdtech]

No, it’s not a distraction. And Who is ‘many‘ people? I’ve never come across anyone outside Macrumors that’s ever even mentioned the notch on the iPhone, ever. (And yes, I’m heavily involved into tech alike.)

It’s not a zero sum game. It can be both distracting to him/her and not distracting to you. Pipe down already with this war of notch defenders vs notch haters. I’m tired of it! If you hate the notch, cool. If you don’t mind the notch or even love the notch, cool. People are entitled to their opinions and, news flash, just because you think something is true doesn’t make it universally true. 🙄

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The smaller notch in other leaks seems to have grown back again in these images? I hope these are old images just surfacing or maybe a prototype detail that doesn’t represent the actual iPhone 12 design.

I like the flat sides again though, that’s a welcome return for me.

 

[vladi]

View attachment 924232
I wonder if this is a lip in the stainless steel or aluminum band. Or, perhaps, a chamfered edge. I’m completely nitpicking, of course, but I was hoping for a truly flat design with no bevel/lip/chamfer, similar to the iPad Pro. That may be harder to achieve when the back will be glass (vs the iPad Pro which is one single piece of aluminum. To that end, it’s a shame we can’t have a true duplicate of the iPad Pro with an aluminum back, and maintain wireless charging. Make no mistake, I’m still going to buy the 5.4” model, no questions asked.
View attachment 924234

Most likely like this

 

[Veinticinco]

I currently have an X which at 5.8” I feel is the perfect size sweet spot for my own hand. I also have a work XR which at 6.1” and thicker, is noticeably slightly uncomfortable to handle.

Was planning to upgrade from X to 12, so have a bit of a dilemma now. The gorilla-handsy Pro Max is out of the question, so it’s between 5.4 and the 6.1 (Pro).

Maybe the iPhone 4-esque flat edges will make 6.1 easier to handle? But having a more compact 5.4 phone is itself very tempting if balanced out by slight loss of display area from the X and possible lack of “Pro” features like camera/LIDAR etc.

Ultimately this will come down to feel in hand, something that’s not ideal in these times.

 

[pcdtech]

Most likely like this

😳 Eek, I hope not!

 

[kb923689]

So your job is to whine on forums about how they’re run out of ideas, but then when asked about what new ideas you’d be looking for as a consumer, have nothing to share? Got it.
[automerge]1592213378[/automerge]

My friend had a white iPhone 5C and I did love the feel in hand. I didn’t mind the polycarbonate material. I actually appreciated it. It felt like it could take a beating and scratching. And, I agree, the shape felt great in the hand. I loved the 5S’ feel in hand, too, but I think the ever so slight curve of the 5C’s back was more comfortable to hold, and more grippy than the 5S. It is unfortunate that Apple hasn’t focused more on the grippiness of its phones from the iPhone 6 to the 11, choosing form over function, once again. I hope that the return to flat edges and a smaller design (5.4” model) will make this much easier to hold and grip in the hand.

I won't wast my time sharing my ideas since the users here will get emotional and Apple won't care.

 

[Veinticinco]

I won't wast my time sharing my ideas since the users here will get emotional and Apple won't care.

But yet you’ll waste your time complaining instead. Why not share your ideas anyway IF you actually have any? Nobody’s getting “emotional“ here but criticism that isn’t constructive is bound to attract a lot of 🙄

 

[kb923689]

But yet you’ll waste your time complaining instead. Why not share your ideas anyway IF you actually have any? Nobody’s getting “emotional“ here but criticism that isn’t constructive is bound to attract a lot of 🙄

People been quoting me with the lamest arguments. I want a 16:9 display and USB-C.

 

[boswald]

I think I'll stick with my SE.

 

[one more]

These molds can be useful to compare the size of the new phones to the current offerings. I am seriously eyeing the 5.4” version. Regarding the notch and provided these molds are correct/final, it will still be narrower than the current ones if you look at them carefully. The notch on iPhone 11, for example, has about 3 mm gap between its sensors and the notch’s outer border on both sides. On these molds this border looks about 50% shorter on each end. Might not seem like a big deal, but could still make a positive difference for the smallest iPhone of the lot. ✌️

 

[Sakurambo-kun]

if you have to ask this, then you don’t understand its core existence in the first place. It houses over eight separate components for the iPhone.

View attachment 924092

The Android guys had a notch for about a year then reduced it to a hole punch. And looking at that list of cruft they could lose all of it without any issues. The speaker moves to the top, face ID becomes touch ID under the screen, and the rest is pointless.

 

[one more]

Naturally design is totally subjective, but although I love the iPhone 4 as the best industrial design Apple ever made, I've always felt the humble 5C had the best ergonomic design. A soft rounded back where your palm rests and squared front which let the screen run closer to the edge.

Of course everyone hated it because it was 'cheap and plastic', but in my opinion the functionality of it was excellent.

I totally agree about 5C - out of all the iPhones I have used (3G, 4, 5C, 7 and 11) it had the best feel in the hand and felt somewhat warmer caseless than the rest. 👍

 

[Doomtomb]

I don't see any changes. Rounded rectangles, wow.

 

[one more]

The Android guys had a notch for about a year then reduced it to a hole punch. And looking at that list of cruft they could lose all of it without any issues. The speaker moves to the top, face ID becomes touch ID under the screen, and the rest is pointless.

The current iPhone speaker grill is about 1 mm tall and the screen border on iPhone 11 is around 4 mm from what I can see. The notch adds 5 mm more to that. Looking at the latest high-end Android offerings, indeed, iPhone notch does not look good. Why do Apple continue with it? Either the under-the-screen Touch ID tech is not mature/reliable enough yet, or Apple just want to use the eventual notch removal as another incentive to upgrade, or both. This year they might attract some people with 5G and a smaller phone (5.4”), then in 2021 they might say - look, folks, we nailed it, no notch and USB-C to boot! Something like this I guess...

 

[x-evil-x]

The current iPhone speaker grill is about 1 mm tall and the screen border on iPhone 11 is around 4 mm from what I can see. The notch adds 5 mm more to that. Looking at the latest high-end Android offerings, indeed, iPhone notch does not look good. Why do Apple continue with it? Either the under-the-screen Touch ID tech is not mature/reliable enough yet, or Apple just want to use the eventual notch removal as another incentive to upgrade, or both. This year they might attract some people with 5G and a smaller phone (5.4”), then in 2021 they might say - look, folks, we nailed it, no notch and USB-C to boot! Something like this I guess...

I really don’t see how they can usb c as an incentive to upgrade to the average population which is the majority of the buyers of these.
most people wont want to buy all new cables they have everywhere for no difference they would ever notice from going usb c.
now a notchless phones is a big incentive you instantly notice and appreciate.
[automerge]1592224457[/automerge]

View attachment 924232
I wonder if this is a lip in the stainless steel or aluminum band. Or, perhaps, a chamfered edge. I’m completely nitpicking, of course, but I was hoping for a truly flat design with no bevel/lip/chamfer, similar to the iPad Pro. That may be harder to achieve when the back will be glass (vs the iPad Pro which is one single piece of aluminum. To that end, it’s a shame we can’t have a true duplicate of the iPad Pro with an aluminum back, and maintain wireless charging. Make no mistake, I’m still going to buy the 5.4” model, no questions asked.
View attachment 924234

I’m assuming the whole thing will be flush like the iPads. Front and back or why even bother. They should be able to get it done.

 

[I7guy]

Can’t wait for the iPhone...
13.

Right. The iphone 14 will be awesome.

That said, the iphone 12 seems very compelling.

 

[NBAasDOGG]

People: make the notch smaller!

Tim: get REKT, you’re about to pay double for that in 2021!

 

[AlexESP]

I think there is a gap between what people think ”only 1mm more to get rid of the camera bump” is and what it really feels like in a 6.7 inch device.

I also don’t expect Apple to take flashy design decisions like ditching the notch just to put form over function. Anyway, the aesthetics of the iPhone, in a word, feel correct to me, like everything is well thought and not left to randomness or to novelty.

 

[tann]

What happened to the smaller notch? That was literally the only thing I was looking forward to in this year’s iPhones.

Smaller notch is for the Pros maybe?

 

[BladeRunner95]

Forget a 'smaller notch', how about finally catching up to the competition and implementing an under-screen finger print sensor instead?!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Forget a 'smaller notch', how about finally catching up to the competition and implementing an under-screen finger print sensor instead?!

That in itself would reduce the need for a notch to house FaceID sensors wouldn’t it?